Zain, Ericsson in billing partnership deal

Dubai, December 2, 2013

Zain, a leading telecommunications operator in the Middle East and Africa region, has partnered with Ericsson to implement its innovative Charging & Billing in One (CBIO) solution across its Gulf operations.

The company will benefit from greater efficiency and their customers will enjoy greater service choice as a result of this partnership with Ericsson,

The partnership agreement, signed during Zain’s Technology Conference held at the Atlantis, The Palm Hotel Dubai, is the first of its kind for the telecom Group and spans across multiple countries.

Ericsson had been selected to transform the current charging and billing system for its operations in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, said Scott Gegenheimer, the Zain Group CEO, after signing the agreement with Ray Hassan, the president for Global Customer Unit Zain at Ericsson.

"Zain will benefit from Ericsson’s expertise in charging, billing mediation and activation. This system facilitates central management of all users and all services for operators. It allows the unification of payment methods across all services," remarked Gegenheimer.

“With Ericsson’s Charging & Billing in One solution, both prepaid and postpaid Zain customers will be able to benefit from the benefits of a consolidated billing system. The highly efficient nature of this system means that our customers will enjoy greater flexibility and efficiency, thereby improving the customer experience and customer loyalty,” he stated.

According to him, this agreement underscores the longstanding relationship between Ericsson and Zain, and following the successful implementation of CBIO solution in Zain Jordan.

Ericsson’s partnership with Zain began in Kuwait, almost three decades back, and has grown to incorporate various products and services across eight countries in the region, he added.

Ray Hassan said the rapid regional uptake of new technologies like 4G/LTE had increased the need for efficiency and flexibility, which extends to the charging & billing customer experience.

"We, at Ericsson, deeply understand the market developments, the operator and their customer needs, and with our wealth of knowledge and extensive global experience, we are proud to continue to be the trusted partner for Zain. With this partnership, Ericsson will continue to support Zain in its delivery of first-rate services to its customers in Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia ," he noted.-TradeArabia News Service